A rookie quarterback on a team far exceeding expectations might remind some of the Jets team that reached the AFC Championship Game four years ago. Bart Scott is not one of those people, though that’s not all bad.
“Not really. We were more of a veteran team from top to bottom,” said Scott, who was a starting linebacker for those Jets , and is now a pregame analyst for CBS.
“It was guys that came from all different places that weren’t home-grown products. It was guys who had come in — be it Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, myself — from free agency. That’s why the resurgence of the Jets didn’t last that long because you can’t keep that talent together with today’s salary cap.”
Indeed, the Jets followed consecutive trips to AFC Championship games with 8-8 and 6-10 seasons. That led to the firing of general manager Mike Tannenbaum with the thought coach Rex Ryan would not be far behind given all the doom and gloom predicted for this season.
The only problem is no one told the Jets.
“He doesn’t care what y’all think,” Scott said of Ryan.
The criticism of the Jets coach reached a fevered pitch when Mark Sanchez was injured late in a preseason game against the Giants this summer, turning the offense over to second-round pick Geno Smith.
“It doesn’t matter to [Ryan],” Scott said. “At the end of the day, you guys are doing your job and he’s doing his. But it has no effect on his life.“
The Jets sit at 5-4 and currently hold the final wild-card spot in the AFC. They are coming off a win over Drew Brees’ Saints and, after last week’s bye, come to Buffalo on Sunday trying to solidify their spot as playoff contenders with their first winning streak of the season.
“This season is going to be how they respond to people patting them on the backs,” said Scott, who retired after last season. “They haven’t responded that well, which is a sign of immaturity sometimes. You have a big win and disappointing losses.’’
Scott was one of the few veterans left on the defense that anchored the Jets teams in Ryan’s first four years. Antonio Cromartie and Calvin Pace remain. That side of the football, now invigorated with youth, is led by linemen Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon Harrison and Sheldon Richardson in their third, second and rookie years, respectively.
All three were drafted with Ryan’s input, alongside first Tannenbaum and now new general manager John Idzik, who turned the first-round pick the Jets received from the Buccaneers for the traded Darrelle Revis into Richardson.
“You always want versatile players with a little bit of edge that can do a little bit of everything because the defense is very complex and not cookie-cutter,” Scott said. “So, you may be asked to do some things that you are not comfortable with or used to doing.”